Speaker :

Nov 16, 2015

The Emirates Diplomatic Academy (EDA), in partnership with the Directorate of Energy and Climate Change of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DECC-MoFA), organised a two-day training workshop to examine the latest developments around the international policy framework of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The well-attended workshop also analysed the most important issues concerning climate change for the UAE’s climate change negotiating delegation and other professionals working in the field in the country.

Titled ‘Climate Change Diplomacy and the UNFCCC’, the training course held at the EDA on November 11 and 12, 2015, was aimed at equipping UAE diplomats and stakeholders with the latest developments in this field.

More than fifty diplomats and professionals participated in the workshop, including the UAE's climate change team, comprised of negotiators and stakeholders from several government agencies, as well as EDA staff and students. The workshop sessions, which were led by experts in the field from DECC-MoFA and EDA, examined multilateral climate change diplomacy and negotiations from both technical and political perspectives.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs attaches great importance to knowledge development in line with the vision of the UAE leadership to create a competitive knowledge-based economy," said H.E. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Director of Energy and Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Workshops such as this one are an essential component of building capacity of UAE diplomats as well as stakeholders engaged in climate change negotiations, especially in view of the critical climate change conference in the history of climate diplomacy starting later this month in Paris," he explained.

Climate change is an issue of the highest importance internationally, and one in which the UAE’s leadership wishes to position the country as a constructive thought leader. At the same time, climate policy has impacts on energy, economic development and other areas of national interest for the UAE.

At the UN Climate Change Conference, also known ‘COP 21’, which will take place in Paris, France, from 30 November to 11 December 2015, 195 countries are expected to reach a universal agreement that will govern climate actions after 2020 in order to prevent a dangerous rise in global average temperatures and enable countries to adapt to its negative impacts.

Speaking at the close of the event, Mariam Al Mahmoud, EDA Spokesperson and Director of Executive Education, said: “we are pleased to have collaborated with MoFA on this successful training course on climate change diplomacy. This workshop is an excellent example of the kind of practical training the EDA provides to UAE professionals working in the field of diplomacy and international relations.”

EDA’s portfolio of innovative and practical executive education courses are designed for individuals currently working as part of the UAE’s foreign policy and diplomatic corps and other government entities. Combining rigorous academic knowledge, contemporary research, and high-level practical experience, these courses are led by EDA’s in-house faculty and trainers, and are complemented by courses developed in collaboration with EDA’s local and international institutional partners.